Grace and Truth

The Pharisees are out in force to observe Jesus at work, along with other religious leaders from every village across the region (17). Why such large numbers? Maybe it was because they saw the coming kingdom of God as their exclusive concern and, so, were checking out this upstart young preacher with his outrageous claims. Their name means “separated ones,” and there were about six thousand of them spread across Palestine. They were teachers in the synagogues, religious examples in the eyes of the people, and self-appointed guardians of the Law. If only people would fully observe the Torah, they believed, God would liberate his people from pagan oppression. As it was their job to promote this, they were hardly likely to be a sympathetic audience for Jesus.

Jesus contrasts their skeptical, judgmental attitudes with the faith of the men who were so desperate to get help for their paralyzed friend that they broke through the roof. With all eyes on him, Jesus speaks the “blasphemy” of forgiveness of sins. He repeats the word “forgive,” stressing it as the central issue. To everyone’s amazement, a miraculous healing takes place.

It’s easy to criticize the Pharisees, but most Pharisees were trying to do the right thing (although in the wrong way). They saw themselves as protectors of the truth, zealous for God’s righteousness; yet, their slavish pursuit of the Law left little room for grace or generosity. Today, in our relativistic society, it is easy to be so concerned with defending the truth, and holding the moral ground, that we forget to be gracious people. May we, like Jesus, be “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Maintaining a balance between grace and truth is hard. On which side do you err? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you may need to change.